Cigarette and cigar holder for automobile ash trays



April 7, 1953 A. SMERECK 2,633,853

CIGARETTE AND CIGAR HOLDER FOR AUTOMOBILE ASH TRAYS Filed Jan. 25, 1950 Arthur Smereck mmvroa.

a: BY M Patented Apr. 7, 1953 7 CIGARETTE AND CIGAR HOLDER FOR AUTOMOBILE ASH TRAYS Arthur Smereck,

uct Development Engineering Detroit, Mich.-, assignor-to Prod- Research and Promotion Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application January 23, 1950, Serial No. 140,014

' Claims. (01. 131-440) .This invention relates to improvements in attachmentsrfor' ash trays, and particularly those normallyfound in vehicles.

Ordinarily a vehicle ash tray is simply a recep taclewith'ameans or devicetherein whereon thecigarette maybe forceably applied in order to. extinguish it." It is one of the intentions of the present invention to provide a means for holding the. cigarettes and cigars superposed with respect to the ash tray.

: There is a-need for a cigarette and a cigar holder-toifitwinto an ash tray in a vehicle to enable the .driverto quickly'and safely deposit his, lighted cigarette or cigar for the moment, thereby freeing both hands completely for use in the control of the vehicle; in order to prevent accidents arising from emergencies involving the necessityfof, using both hands to control and maneuver the vehicle while driving and smoking at the, same time. 'Moreovenfor convenience and'ease of smoking while drivingor parking the need of such a device is manifest. Accordingly, it-is another object of this invention to hold the cigarette or cigar thereby allowing the driver .of the vehicle to have both hands free for use in operating his vehicle. It is another object of this invention to universally adapt the device so that it-will fit practically. most ash trays now in vehicles.

Anotherobject of this invention is to provide luminous holders for the cigarettes or cigars in the form of clamps so that they may be visible atnis A still further object of this invention is to arrange the device so that it may be folded in the ash traywhereby the ash tray may be operated normally, that is, moved inwardly and outwardly of the dashboard or other vehicle element in which it is mounted, without hindrance.

Ancillary objects and features will become apparent in following the description of the illus- 5 trated form of the invention;

p igure l is a sectional view] of the device'with portions being'shown in elevation and showing [its use in a typicalash'tray, the ash tray also being shown in'section;

Figure 2 isa .viewitaken substantially on the line., 2- 2 of Figure 1 and in the direction of of, the arrows;

Figure 3 is a enlarge view taken on the'line 3- 3 of Figure l andrinthe direction of the ar- .row;and,j.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 3 and in the direction of the arrows.

In carrying out the objects of the inventionthe structure must be simple in order .tobe com.- mercially feasible. Therefore, the illustrated embodiment of the invention is composed .of a small number of parts and is so arranged that it may be manufactured by common shop practices. 7

A typical ash receptacle or tray indicated at to is provided with among other structures, sides l2 and it as well as abottom l6. Disposedfin the ash tray H) is the attachment. This attach:- ment consists of a pair of standards or brackets I8 and 20 respectively having flat lower portions which are disposed on and contactthe bottom it. These brackets have aligned sleeves 22.,a'nd 24 fixed in aligned openings thereinin order-to accommodate the anchoring screws 26and 28. The outer ends 30 and 32 of the screws are pointed in order to form an extremely smallfiindentation in the metal of the sides 12 and. when the screws are operated outwardly ofl each other in order to fix the device in place within the ash tray, the screws and sleeves forming part of a means for performing this operation. Forming another part of this means is a turnbuckle or operator 34 having a bore therein having two sets of threads one being of the. lefthanded variety and the other being of the righthanded variety. By this expedient rotation of the operator 34 causes the screws 26 and 28 mm issued inwardly or outwardly inasmuch ,as the screws are disposed in the bore. 'As the flat bot;- toms of the brackets are in contact with the bottom [6, and further, since the lower portion of the brackets contact the frontwallof. the tray as shown in Figure "2, these bracketsareheld against rotation during adjustment of the anchoring screws by the turnbuckle. g

A clamp or holder member 38 has a shank 40 projecting therefrom. An identical clamp .or holder member 42 has a shank projecting from the lower end thereof. Each clamp is made of a pair of arms which diverge from a center section. The center section has the :shank extended therefrom and fixed thereto; It is :between the diverging arms of each clamp that I placed in side by side relationship-to: eachiother and which are formed with protuberances 46 and 48 at the lower ends. The pivot pin 50- passes through the shanks below the protuberances 46 and 48 and also through a suitable opening in the support or bracket W. This mounts the shank 40 for pivotal movement in the bracket IS.

The upper end of the bracket [8 is bifurcated thereby forming sections or arms 52 and, 54. Each arm or section 52 and 54 has a pair of recesses therein, the recesses being substantially elliptically shaped as disclosed in Figure 4. In this figure the arm 52 has a recess 53 which is disposed so that its axis is substantially horizontal and a recess 69 which is disposed so that its axis is substantially vertical-l. When the shank 40 is rotated about its pivot pin 50 as in axis, it is clamped by engagement of the protuberances 48 and 4B in either the pair of recesses 60 or the pair of recesses 58. By this construction and through this operation the shank and therefor the clamp 38 is disposed either perpendicular to the bottom It of the ash tray 10 or in a plane parallel to the bottom I6. This is the operative and inoperative positions whereby the device may be used or pivoted so that the ash tray may be moved inwardly of the dash board of the vehicle.

So far as the shank 44 is concerned and the means of pivotally mounting the shank 4'4, this portion of the device is identical to the described portion shown best in Figures 3 and 4. Any

number which is considered practical, of the clamps and associated mounting mechanisms maybe employed.

During installation of the holder into the receptacle, the outer ends and 32 of the screws may be held against rotation by the thumb and middle finger of a users' hand while the operator 3B is rotated, by the users other hand, to move the screws longitudinally from each other. Once the pointed ends of the screws start biting into the walls l2 and M, the screws will move longitudinally without rotating in their accommodating sleeves.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as'new is:

1. In an ash tray having a bottom, a front wall and a pair of spaced opposed side walls, a cigar andcigarette holder comprising a pair of spaced brackets mounted in the tray and having lower portions bearing against the bottom and the front. wall between said side walls, said brackets having aligned openings therein, sleeves mounted in the openings, aligned anchoring screws slidable in the sleeves and engageable with said side walls, a turnbuckle threadedly connected to the inner end portions of the Screws between the brackets for operativel-y engaging said screws with said side walls, and holders pivotally mounted on said brackets, said lower portions being engaged with said bottom and said front wall to prevent rotation of said brackets during man ual adjustment of the anchoring screws by said turnbuckle.

2. In an ash tray including a bottom wall and spaced side walls, a pair of supporting brackets disposed in said ash tray and having aligned sleeves secured therein, screws extending through said sleeves and longitudinally movable with respect thereto, a rotatable operator for said screws adapted to move said screws longitudinal- 1y away from each other to clampingly engage said side walls, shanks pivotally mounted on said brackets for selective movement into and out of said tray, and cigar and cigarette holder memets in the ash tray by contact with interior parts of the ash tray and against said bottom wall, shanks carried by said brackets, means operatively connected with said brackets and said shanks adapted to retain said shanks in selected pivoted positions, and cigar and cigarette supporting means carried by said shanks.

4. In an ash tray having opposed walls, an attachment releasably connectedtherewith for holding cigars and cigarettes, said attachment comprising a pair of brackets disposed in the ash tray, extensible means carried by said brackets for 'releasably engaging interior faces of "the opp'osed walls of the tray to fix said brackets in the ash tray and in contact with interior parts of the ash tray, shanks carried by said brackets, means operatively connected with said brackets and said shanks for retaining said shanks in selected pivoted positions, and cigar and cigarette supporting means carried by said shanks, said extensible means including at least one screw carried by at least one of said brackets and means for axially operating said screw.

5. A cigarette holder attachment for ash trays comprising a pair of brackets each having a fiat lower portion adapted to rest against the bottom of a fiat bottomed :ash tray, a pair of slidable anchoring screws carried by the brackets and having inner and outer end portions, a turnbuckle threadingly connecting the inner end portions of the screws and being manually adjustable to force the outer ends of the screws into engagement with the interior faces of opposed walls of a tray, said v flat lower portions adapted to engage the bottom of a tray to prevent rotation of the brackets during adjustment of the turnbuckle, and cigar and cigarette holding means pivotally secured to the brackets and selectively movable into and out of a' tray in which the holder may be mounted.

ARTHUR SMERECK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 145,116 McKiernan Dec. 2, 1873 252,753 Fitzgerald Jan. 24, 1882 1,841,389 Weis Jan. 19, 1932 l,845,93l Pace et a1. .Feb. 16, 1932 1,950,933 Snell Mar. 13, 1934 2,391,190 Porter Dec. 18, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,081 Great Britain 1908 233,342 Great Britain Jan. 12, 1928 399,615 Great Britain Oct. 12, 1933 430,943 Great Britain Feb. 8, 1937 

